Brooklyn Man Who Dressed As Dead Mother In Real Estate Scam Is Heading To Prison

A Brooklyn man who dressed up as his dead mother to commit real estate and social security fraud was in court this afternoon where he was sentenced to some rather lengthy prison time after getting found guilty last month of multiple dressing-as-your-dead-mother-to-scam-people-related crimes.

Parkin, 51, was sentenced to a total of 13 2/3 to 41 years in prison for a scam in which he attempted to convince the government that his mother was alive so he could regain ownership of her home, which was sold at auction after Parkin was unable to pay the mortgage.

In the 1990s, Parkin's mother, Irene Prusik, deeded her home at 492
6th Avenue in Park Slope to her son. At the time, Prusik, Parkin and
Prusik's other son were living in the building.

Parkin was unable to keep the home, and in January 2003 it was sold to Samir Chopra at a foreclosure auction.

When Prusik died in September 2003, Parkin and his co-defendant,
49-year-old Mhilton Rimolo, filed lawsuits against Chopra in Prusik's
name, claiming she was still alive and that the auction was invalid
because Prusik -- not Parkin -- owned the home.

To commit the scam, Parkin doctored Prusik's death certificate --
giving authorities a false social security number and date of birth --
to make it appear as though she was still alive. At one point, Parkin
dressed as his dead mother (as you can see in the image above) and went
to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew her driver's license.

Not knowing prosecutors already were investigating him, Parkin went
to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office in March of 2009 to report
that he and his mother were victims of real estate fraud. He claimed his
mother owned the home and that the new owner, Chopra, filed false documents in court filings against him.

Parkin agreed to arrange a meeting between his mother and
investigators at the home. When the investigators got there, Parkin was
wearing a red cardigan, lipstick, manicured nails and breathing through
an oxygen tank, in an attempt to pass himself off as his dead
77-year-old mother. He was arrested on the spot.

In addition to the real estate scam, Parkin also collected his dead
mother's social security benefits every month for six years, totaling
$44,000.

For his role in the scam, Rimolo pleaded guilty in September of 2010
to second-degree grand larceny. He was sentenced to three years in
prison.